Collection of Winterfics
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: Collection of fics written for the Winter Writing Challenge.
1. Power Outage

**Summary**: The house was dark when they went back to it.

Yet another collection post. XD; Winterfics this time! ...I was supposed to start posting these at the start of the month. ORZ

Assume unless explicity stated, all these fics are set post-canon.

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**************Power Outage**

By Dark Ice Dragon

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Tao stretched, groaning as he did so, and Takeo just shook his head at that. The RK-5 had spent a couple of hours trying out new strategies and tactics, just in case something came up, and even Frankenstein had joined in as well for a while, overseeing how well they worked together, and what else they could improve on.

"Heh," Tao said, once he'd finished, "I can't wait to see..." The door that split the house from the lab was open, and everyone could see that all the lights were off – they'd been on when they'd went into the lab.

Shit. Had they been found out?

Without a word, Tao threw everyone their earpieces and they all put them in, preparing for the upcoming fight.

M-21 and Regis re-entered the house first, M-21's claws already out. There were no sounds of attack.

"_It's clear_," M-21 murmured. "_We're in the living room._"

Which meant he and Seira would go towards the bedrooms. Sharing a nod with Tao and Seira, Takeo double-checked his pistols. Just as they were about to leave the lab, Takeo paused.

"Ah, should we tell...?" If they really were under attack, Frankenstein would have to know that his house was going to be a battleground.

Tao glanced in the direction that they had come from, chuckling weakly. "I'll tell Boss if we do find intruders - if we worry him about making a mess..."

Haaa. Right. Making eye-contact with Seira, they left the lab.

There was enough moonlight streaming in from the windows that Takeo could navigate around the house, and Seira didn't seem to have any trouble either. They didn't run into anyone on the first floor and just as they reached the second floor, Takeo's earpiece crackled.

"_Hey, it's a false alarm - the entire block's lost their power,_" Tao told them.

"_The entire block?_" Regis repeated.

Takeo glanced out the window, then sighed. "Confirmed." There were only a couple of lights visible from what he could see, and he assumed those were candles or torches.

"_Heh, I think Boss has separate generators for the lab - it'd be a little suspicious trying to explain that electricity bill._"

Y-yeah, it would.

"_Well, then,_" Tao continued. "_We should get back to the lab._"

"_You're not going to fix this?_" M-21 asked, amusement clear in his tone.

"_Nah - people'd ask questions if our house was the only one that had electricity._"

Ah, that was a point.

"_I think Boss' finished baking the nokcha cake now anyway - I can smell it_."

Takeo flicked the safety of his pistol off, sliding the magazine out as well before tilting his head towards Seira.

She dipped her head in return, and together, they made their way back to the lab.


	2. Sweater

**Summary**: The days were getting colder.

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**************Sweater**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

The days were getting colder, M-21 noted as he watched the clouds go by as he stood at the balcony. The trees had lost their leaves some time ago, and their breaths had started to freeze in front of them.

He heard the door open behind him, but he didn't turn around, waiting.

The light chuckle was enough to tell him who it was, and M-21 felt a small smile tug at his own lips, just at the fact that Tao was there. There was a crinkle of something though, and M-21 started to glance over his shoulder to see what Tao had in his hands, so he could prepare himself, but something soft and fuzzy was dropped on top of his head, covering his eyes.

He didn't move for a second, wondering what was going to happen next, but when nothing did, M-21 lifted whatever-it-was off his head. It was a sweater, a light grey one.

Looking up, he saw Tao was wearing a black one, and he wondered if everyone else was now wearing a specifically coloured sweater.

"C'mon," Tao said, making fluttering gestures, "put it on."

"And if I don't?" M-21 asked, but it was just a pretence of an argument, and they knew it, M-21 already slipping it on.

"Then you'll get ill and then Boss'll want to know _why _you're ill."

...That was a very good reason. M-21 couldn't help but poke at the statement though, smiling. "We don't get ill though."

"And now you just jinxed it!" Tao declared, his eyes wide. "You're going to get ill first!"

M-21 just breathed a laugh as they made their way back into the house. Well, if a sweater was all it took to keep him from being sick, he'd wear it.

* * *

Tao commissioned Frankenstein to make them. :|


	3. Snowball Fight

**Summary**: Regis raised an eyebrow. "Han Shinwoo, what are you doing?"

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**************Snowball Fight**

By Dark Ice Dragon

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Regis raised an eyebrow. "Han Shinwoo, what are you doing?" The teenager had scooped up a handful of snow and was patting it down into a ball.

Shinwoo just laughed as he tossed it in the air, grinning widely. "Making a snowball."

Regis just watched him as he did so, wondering what the purpose was for it.

"It's fun," Shinwoo explained without prompting, apparently used to Regis' and Seira's unfamiliarity with a lot of things, due to being 'foreigners'.

"'Fun'," he repeated, uncertainly. Why was making a ball of snow considered 'fun'?

Regis froze as he sensed something speed towards him and he whirled around, a hand raised -

Something white exploded on his arm, and Regis blinked at how...harmless the attack had been.

There was a burst of giggles in front of him, and Regis looked past his arm to see Yuna with a hand hiding her mouth.

"Nice shot, Seira!" Ik-han cheered, punching the air in victory.

_What_? Regis gaped at Seira - and saw she had another snowball in hand.

In the blink of an eye there was a snowball soaring towards Seira's side. Shinwoo-! Ik-han dodged it with a yelp but came back instantly with a snowball in hand, flinging it towards them.

Regis ducked down, mimicking what he had seen Shinwoo do, holding it there for a second, feeling the cold prickle his skin, dampening his palm as it started to melt. So the purpose was to have projectiles that didn't actually hurt anyone.

He huffed, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. Harmless fun.

Just as he was about to throw his snowball, another snowball got him full in the face. Regis spluttered, blinking rapidly while Shinwoo started shouting 'Man down! Man down!' It only took a second for Regis to shake the snow out of his face, and he could _see _Seira's little smile, her hands now empty.

Oh. He was going to give as much as he got. Smirking, Regis raised his hand and threw.

* * *

The trio were originally going to come in at the end, but I wanted to focus on these two. :3


	4. Snowmen

**Summary**: Tao hummed under his breath as he put the finishing touches to his 'snowman' in Frankenstein's back garden.

About half of this fic exists because of Kaelin. XD And I'm going to assume I was influenced a fair bit by Dogmatix's Sebastian and the Beast too. XD;;

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**************Snowmen**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

Tao hummed under his breath as he put the finishing touches to his 'snowman' in Boss' back garden. He patted down a couple of areas that didn't look as secure, but it was looking close to what he wanted it to be.

"Tao," he heard M-21 ask, puzzlement in his voice, "what are you doing?"

"Making a snowman!" he said, wiping his gloves free of snow. Wasn't it obvious? "You never seen one before?"

M-21 snorted, his breath freezing in front of him, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah." M-21 studied his snowman, shaking his head. "I've just never seen one with tentacles before."

"Then you've _obviously _never seen any of the good ones!" Tao said loftily, stepping back to make sure nothing had moved while his attention had been on other things. Three of the tentacles that coiled skyward were okay, but the fourth looked like it needed more support where it connected to the main body before it broke off from its own weight.

He didn't get a response to that, M-21 crunching away to where Tao had last seen Takeo.

He could hear Regis and Seira talking with them, Takeo and M-21 asking questions; he didn't pay attention to what they were saying.

Not until something smacked him in the back of the head, and he yelped as something _cold _slid down his neck.

He whirled around to see the four of them either not looking in his direction, or clearing their throats. Not looking in his direction.

Tao let a grin spread wide across his face. "You do realise that means I'm going to have to retaliate, right?" he said mildly, brushing the snow out his hair.

"Of course," Takeo said, wearing a small smirk.

Ah, so _that_ was who the perpetrator was; he was going to be the first to go down. "There is only going to be _one _rule," Tao said, already shifting his weight, preparing for the ensuing battle. He saw the others do the same. "No snowballs near Boss' snowman." They had a big enough space to work with, but once the snowball fight was underway, there was a large chance they would mentally tag snowRai as cover rather than something to be avoided.

Everyone glanced at snowRai and then edged away from it.

"The front garden is free," Seira said, her eyes sliding to the path that would lead them there.

"…Yeah, let's go to the front garden." No point risking even _one_ snowball going astray.

* * *

Haha, okay, I guess it was obvious that I'd originally planned for them to knock Rai!snowman's head off, and then panicking and flailing ensue, but I felt that was too close to Track and then Seira spoke up anyway.

…Help. Too much crack. Or too much Tao.


	5. Warm Drinks

**Summary**: Frankenstein just smiled as he watched everyone tumble through the door and out the cold.

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**************Warm Drinks**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

Frankenstein just smiled as he watched everyone tumble through the door and out the cold, laughing (well, that was largely Tao and the children) as they changed shoes and shucked dripping jackets. It looked as if they'd just escaped from a snowball fight - Frankenstein hoped they hadn't involved the entire school again.

"Hey, B - ooh, what's that?" Tao peered at the steaming mugs sitting on top of the table.

"Hot chocolate," Frankenstein said. It was a new recipe that he had been trying out and testing over the last couple of days - he had finally achieved a taste that he found acceptable.

"I see, I see," Tao said, nodding. After everyone had gathered around the table, drinking their hot chocolate, the children chatting about what had happened just before they had arrived at the house (thankfully, it hadn't involved the entire school - just half), Tao had somehow gotten into the position of sitting nearest to Master. When Master put his cup down, Tao glanced at it, and then his expression turned confused.

"That doesn't look like hot chocolate..."

"Of course not," Frankenstein said. "It's chocolate tea."

Tao only blinked for a second before snickering. "Of course you'd make that."

Frankenstein just raised an eyebrow at him but Tao didn't elaborate and Frankenstein sighed when Shinwoo asked for a refill. Well, he'd made more than enough for them all; he turned to fetch the pot.

* * *

Chocolate tea! Chocolate tea does, in fact, exist. 8D

(Chapter 262. Oh my god! Not enough capslock IN THE WORLD. Anyone want to throw Rai prompts at me? Send them to me via PM!)


	6. Mistletoe

**Summary**: "Hey, Boss?" Tao said, "What's that?"

I had been thinking about posting this later but…

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**************Mistletoe**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

"Hey, Boss?" Tao said, staring at the piece of greenery that had somehow found itself hanging above the door. "What's that?" He was sure that hadn't been there before; Boss would have cleaned it away instantly.

"Hm?" Boss lifted his head from the long string of sparkly decorations in his hands to glance at what Tao was looking at. "Ah," he said, nodding, "it's mistletoe."

"Mistle - ah!" Oh, of course! He grinned, snickering and then said, "I didn't think you'd put one up!" Because if _he _walked under it with someone... Boss wouldn't allow it.

A pained expression flitted across Boss' face. "Master bought it."

...Oh. Wow, Tao hadn't expected _that_. Hm, he wondered if _he _knew what mistletoe meant, or if he bought it because he felt like it and it was on sale.

The front door opened. "Hmph," came a familiar voice. "Jin-kyong was _not _blushing at me."

A snort. "You weren't looking at her – you were _distracted_."

"I was not!"

Oh, _no_. There was absolutely no stopping Tao's anticipatory grin from spreading across his face, hoping his cameras were going to capture what was going to happen next in high definition.

"And-" M-21 stopped directly under the mistletoe when he saw Tao sitting there, Regis following suit.

Tao couldn't help it - he burst out laughing. "Okay!" he said, clapping his hands as he tried to get the words out. "Now you two gotta kiss!"

"_What_?" the two yelled in tandem, and hey, they agreed on something! The mistletoe _was _magic!

"You're standing under mistletoe," Tao told them, pointing above their heads. "It's tradit - hey!"

Shaking their heads, both of them stalked off, away from the mistletoe.

Ah, fine. If M-21 and Regis were back, that meant the rest of the children were going to be arriving soon, and Tao wondered who was going to step under it next.

* * *

Because Rai _is_ a bit of a troll. :|

(Chapter 262. Oh my god! Not enough capslock IN THE WORLD. Anyone want to throw Rai prompts at me? Send them to me via PM or review!)


	7. Snowed In

**Summary**: Even if they're snowed in, the trio are getting to work, no matter what.

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**************Snowed In**

By Dark Ice Dragon

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Tao whistled low as he peered out the window, watching the snow as it drifted down from the sky by the bucketful. "Haven't seen snow like this for a while."

"I've never seen it that deep before," M-21 said, coming up beside him and leaning on the wall to look outside, crossing his arms.

"You haven't?" Tao mused. "Oh, you were probably usually sent to urban places, right?"

M-21 nodded.

Tao looked down at the street, where telling the difference between the road and the pavement was the _least_ of your problems. You couldn't _walk _through that – at best, you'd have to wade through it, the snow piled so high it probably reached Takeo's chest.

"Well," Tao sighed, zipping up his jacket (he wasn't affected by the temperature that much, but it'd look suspicious if he was in his regular suit and _not _shivering), popping the window open, "best way to get to work it via the rooftops." It was quicker, and it meant they'd stay marginally drier that way.

They didn't have to wait long for Takeo to join them, and then they jumped out the window, making their way to the school.

xOx

"…Huh." Tao stared at the closed and locked gate of the school and then checked the time. The gate should be open by now… There weren't any signs of disturbance in the snow (which wasn't surprising considering – they hadn't seen any vehicles on the way to the school) so maybe…

Tao's phone vibrated, and he pulled it out his pocket, checking to see who it was. "Hey, Boss!"

"_…Where are you?_"

That sounded ominous. He shared a look with the others, shrugging. Boss didn't sound annoyed though. "We're perched on top of the gate wall." Since there was less snow there.

There was a rustle and then a sigh. "_At the school?_"

"Yeees?" Where they were supposed to be, right?

"_If you had stayed behind for a little longer, I would have been able to inform you that the school closes once the weather makes it impossible for the students or teachers to travel to the school._"

Tao eyed the depth of the snow that surrounded them. "Ahaha. Oh." Whoops. They probably should have realised that. "We'll be back as soon as we can, then, Boss!"

"_Make sure you do_," was Boss' wry reply, before ending the call.

Tao stored his phone away, and then declared: "Race you back home!" He shot off before he'd finished speaking, laughing as he heard startled exclamations behind him. He was going to need all the speed advantages he could get with these two.


	8. Family Pictures

**Summary**: Rai watched Yuna from the corner of his eyes when she raised the unfamiliar piece of technology to her face, a _'click'_ following soon after.

Set some time during Attention Please 6 and also takes into account Attention Please 4. XD Aaaand I'm just going to say the Aps are set at any time and just shuffled them past season 2.

…Wow, Rai's thoughts are _hard_. D:

I also have _three_ versions of this prompt bouncing about in my head.

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**************Family Pictures**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

Rai watched Yuna from the corner of his eyes when she raised the unfamiliar piece of technology to her face, a '_click_' following soon after. She and Suyi left soon after, and he stared after them, wondering what they had done.

Shinwoo dropped into the chair next to him, leaning back so that he was only balancing on two legs. Snickering, Shinwoo said, "They'll probably have a picture of the entire school by the end of the day."

Rai blinked at him.

Not perturbed by his stare, Shinwoo dug into his pockets, pulling out his phone –after his keys, wallet, and a few won- and showed it to Rai. "They're taking pictures –like you did on your phone- so they can remember what they took a picture of later."

…Oh. Rai didn't say anything as Shinwoo proceeded to show him the pictures he had taken on his own phone, an idea forming in his mind.

xOx

The first picture Rai took was of Seira and Regis. It was of their backs while they were walking towards the cafeteria. He frowned slightly at the image. That wasn't what he wanted.

He would have to take more.

xOx

Rai's next picture was more successful; he took it while they were waiting for their ramen to grow, though he would have to learn to raise his phone higher – then he could have their full faces in the picture.

xOx

It took a bit more time to find M-21, Takeo, and Tao as they patrolled the school grounds.

"Heeey!" Tao greeted, his ever present grin on his face as he waved at Rai. "PE this period, huh?"

Rai nodded, before he lifted his phone to take another picture.

'_Click_.'

Hm. This picture had all three of them in it.

Rai turned away to go back into the school.

xOx

"Ah? Master?"

Frankenstein peered at him from over his glasses, a pile of papers sitting next to him.

Rai raised his phone, and he smiled when he saw Frankenstein pose just before he told the phone to take a picture.

He glanced at the picture to make sure it was clear before he accepted Frankenstein's offer of tea.

xOx

Rai took more pictures after school – of the children, of the PC Bang, of the park they sometimes walked through. And more pictures of Regis and Seira; it took a few more tries before he had the pictures he wanted.

When they were home, Rai continued to take pictures: Tao playing with the children; the table as it was covered in the remnants of the children's snacks; Frankenstein staring at the table; Regis cleaning the table; Takeo and M-21 washing the dishes; Seira serving dinner.

After dinner, once everything was cleared away, Rai sought out Frankenstein; he was in his laboratory, puttering about in his labcoat.

Frankenstein took his mobile without a question, blinked once, and then smiled, bowing.

"Of course, Master. I'll see to it right away."

xOx

When Rai went to bed that night, there were three new picture frames in his room.

* * *

Rai was originally going to go to Tao but…Yeah. Frankenstein. XD


	9. Quiet

**Summary**: The living room was suspiciously quiet.

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**************Quiet**

By Dark Ice Dragon

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The living room was suspiciously quiet. Frankenstein was sure the children should have been making _some_ sort of noise (and mess, as was their wont) and the fact that there wasn't made Frankenstein even more suspicious. And worried. There were only a few reasons why a silence swept through a group of children, and one of them was something had been _broken_. He had only left for a few moments; _surely _they couldn't have created that much damage in that amount of time?

Frankenstein tried to quell his thoughts about what they had broken (A chair? The table? The _tea maker_?) as he opened the door to the living room, fixing a smile on his face.

The living room was dark (Had they broken the lights?), only the twinkling multi-coloured lights from the tree illuminating the room. And-

Oh.

Frankenstein's smile softened as he padded to his Master's side. Master nodded to him, a cup of tea in his hands, before he turned back to the rest of the household's sleeping forms. Tao was sprawled across both Takeo's and M-21's laps as they leaned back on the couch, while Seira and Regis had fallen asleep next to each other.

"You let the children out, Master?" Frankenstein murmured, so not to wake them. He turned over what he'd brought in his hands, preparing it.

Master nodded, and Frankenstein smiled proudly at him before he swept his eyes over everyone else again. This…had never been something they had done in Lukedonia, and it hadn't been something they _could _do, not with just the two of them. Now, there were more than enough.

Frankenstein took a few steps back, raising the camera to make sure he had everyone in shot, and took a picture of them. He took a few more, each picture unique with how the lights played across their features, but when Frankenstein lowered his arms, he looked in puzzlement at Master, who had his hand raised towards him, his cup of tea on its saucer. As Frankenstein approached him again, Master stood up, and Frankenstein realised what it was he wanted.

"Ah, Master, are you sure?"

Master merely looked at him, and Frankenstein ducked his head, knowing exactly what he was saying: this was his family as well, so why shouldn't he have pictures with them?

He gave the camera to Master, instructing him how to use it, and then stepped back. Master lifted the camera to his face and took a few pictures.

As soon as was convenient, Frankenstein was going to back the pictures up in as many different places as he could think of, so that they would always have at least one copy to remember this moment by.

There was, of course, the matter of all crumbs and sweet and crisp packets that littered both the table and floor, but they could clean that up once they were awake.

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Well, this was originally going to be for the Family Pictures prompt again, but Sleep fitted a bit better. :3

Happy holidays and I hope you have a happy new year, if I don't update before then. XD


End file.
